Participants
of all ages can pay $15 per person to participate in the "Giggin' for
Grads" event sponsored by the DeKalb County Young Farmers and Ranchers.
Proceeds will go toward a scholarship for a local student interested in
agriculture.

The winner, who spears and collects the 15 heaviest frogs, will receive a prize.

"It's
for a good cause that increases education in the area," said Dan
Strasser with the Tennessee Young Farmers and Ranchers state committee.

PETA
and other national groups have urged protestors to flock to the event
tonight and to call DeKalb County High School to ask them to fund-raise
in a different way.

"Gigged frogs experience extreme pain and
terror when stabbed through their sensitive skin, tissues, and organs," a
statement from the animal rights group said. "These vulnerable animals
experience a slow, agonizing death."

A Facebook page for the event has been dominated by a debate over the ethics of gigging frogs for weeks.

"People
in our community already hunt frogs, so why not take advantage of that
and raise money?" a statement on the page read. "It is no different than
a fishing tournament. All the frogs will be eaten afterward. We will do
our best to promote ethical hunting strategies to our contestants and
for the frogs to die quickly."

The event will begin with registration at 7 p.m. and last until 1 a.m. Organizers said they are expecting protestors.